title: Exposure assessment and health risk of poly-brominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants in the indoor environment of elementary school students in Korea.
abstract: This study assessed the health risks of elementary school students' exposure to PBDEs via different possible pathways in children's facilities. After PBDE contamination was measured, exposure was demonstrated to occur through multiple routes, including inhalation of indoor dust, dermal contact with products' surfaces and children's hands, and incidental dust ingestion. Samples were collected from various children's facilities (30 elementary schools, 31 private academies, 12 living rooms and bedrooms in houses, 5 public libraries of children's literature, and 3 large hypermalls) in summer (Jul-Sep, 2008) and winter (Jan-Feb, 2009). The hazard index (HI) was estimated for non-carcinogens and PBDEs, such as TeBDE, PeBDE, HxBDE, OcBDE, and DeBDE. PBDEs were detected in all floor dust samples, 99% of indoor air samples, 94% of product-wipe samples, and 86% of hand wipe samples. The average levels of PBDEs ranged from 0.19 to 1.06 ng/m(3) in indoor air, 4623 to 6,650 ng/g-dust in floor dust, 0.012 to 0.103 ng/cm(2) on product surfaces, and 7.89 to 25.38 ng/hand on the surface of children's hands. The HI for school children via multimedia and multipathway exposure to PBDEs did not exceed 1.0. The exposure to PBDEs at home (approximately 80%) was dominant. The contribution rates of PBDE risk were 77% and 15% via dust ingestion at home and at elementary school, respectively; thus, intake of floor dust was determined to be the primary route of exposure.
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Environmental Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsan-no, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Environmental Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsan-no, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ho-Hyun
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Environmental Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsan-no, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chung-Soo
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Environmental Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsan-no, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Dept. of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsan-no, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Chun
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Environmental Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 250 Seongsan-no, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jyyang67@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Ji-Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D005430:Floors and Floorcoverings; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
keywords: Elementary school student; Multimedia and multipathway exposure; PBDEs; Risk assessment